The debate on assisted suicides has been brought sharply into focus now that Patricia Hewitt has tabled an amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill to protect them from prosecution.

It is against the law at the moment to assist in a suicide - the penalty is 14 years in prison. 

Since Dignitas opened in Switzerland in 1998 more than a hundred Britons have ended their lives there - often assisted by their relatives.  700 Britons are members of Dignitas

To date no prosecutions have been brought against relatives returning from Dignitas.

The debate is about the right to die with dignity, against the possibility of coercion into suicide.

The strongest argument against assisted suicides is that the weak and elderly  may easily be coerced into committing suicide by their younger and stronger relatives - and that this could especially be influenced by money particularly when the inheritance is being spend keeping that relative in care.

21/03/2009